Her claims are easily refutable, but it is her deafening silence regarding the quintessentially American ideal of individual liberty that is of greatest consequence. She apparently sees her fellow Americans as unwashed masses who cannot be trusted to make their own decisions. She wants to impose authoritarian systems (for health care, for example) that allow them no avenue of escape, even if they detest the imposed system and greatly prefer a different system, or no system.

Socialism falls within the more general category known as collectivism. Collectivism exists whenever individuals are coerced to serve interests other than their own. Collectivists always claim the individual is serving society, but this is a fantastic lie. Collectivism is a depraved scheme that allows some privileged individuals to victimize other individuals.

In health care, for example, some privileged individuals may have their health care or health insurance subsidized by victims who have less political power. This is unadulterated theft. Theft prevention is a legitimate role of government, but depraved collectivists have the government actually facilitating the theft instead!

Asserting that socialism/collectivism is good is about as rational as asserting that a daily swim in raw sewage is good.

Good health care for all is an admirable goal that must be achieved through individual initiative and voluntary cooperation/charity. With few, if any, exceptions, no one has a right to use coercion to achieve objectives.

Richard Hirschi

Albany